Krusk
Background Krusk, a half-orc, was born on a small farm outside of the capitol with his mother, father, and younger brother. They had to work hard but they were happy. Krusk was especially good at wrangling the animals due to his uncanny strength and powerful grip; skills that would soon save his life. One day, Krusk was playing with his brother out in the field. They were wrestling around and although Krusk could easily defeat his brother, he was letting him win. Unbeknownst to them, they had company, one of which was a large panther hiding in the brush. As it watched the brothers, it edged closer, waiting for the opportune moment. It found it when the younger one separated from his brother. With bloodlust in his eyes, the deadly cat sprang at the brother, ready to feast. Krusk saw this and instinctively dived for the cat. He knocked it aside before it could land the blow, but it was not done. Angered at losing his kill, the beast leaped on Krusk and sunk his teeth into his shoulder. Krusk howled in pain, but found a way to keep his cool. Eventually he was able get a grip on the monster's neck, and with a bloodcurdling cry he snapped the cat’s neck. Unfortunately for him, there was a second person watching. His name was Wachaam. Wachaam was amazed by what he just saw. Wachaam also happened to be a slave trader with 4 armed guards around him. He knew that this boy could be amazing in the pits. He wasted no time and approached Krusk. Krusk saw them coming, but knew they could not both get away. He told his brother to run home and not look back. He did, and that was the last Krusk saw of him, as well as his family. While Krusk knew he was strong, he also knew he couldn't handle all of them. Before he knew it, he had become a slave and was fighting in the Coliseum, where he would stay until the age of 18. That day, the Mad Queen had come to visit the Coliseum. She always loved the fights and today was a special day where one of the gladiators would earn their freedom through impressing her. While she did not know his name, Krusk was on her watch for he had survived all these years. But it would not be easy, for today Krusk would have to fight his mentor in the pits, Urok-ka. The battle was intense. It went back and forth and at one point Krusk found himself locked down by a magical trap. Urok-ka charged, seeing that Krusk could not move. This is when a fire lit inside Krusk as he remembered the panther and he clutched his fist till they bled, and then he could move. Krusk was able to swerve and put Urok-ka in a deadly headlock. In his rage he snapped his neck, but this time when he looked down it was not a cat lying at his feet, but his mentor. But he had the pleased the queen and earned his freedom. She did so and he vowed to return to his family. Unfortunately for him, it would not be that easy. As he ventured home, he got lost in the Feywild. While trying to find his way out, he was come upon by a large group of thieves. Although Krusk was able to fight off many of them, but soon they overwhelmed him and he was captured. Thinking he was a spy for the local militia, they prepared to kill Krusk to send a message. Luckily for him, that same militia came at the last minute and saved his life. Being very grateful for their help, and because the weather would be changing soon, Krusk decided to help out the guards while learning more about the area. Rise of the New God The Castle Maze Feeling compelled to help with the world, Krusk joined forces with Bûrzum Rung-Pilik, Ildirin Suvarmaq, and K'Artanyik. The maze had some dangerous traps, especially a game room where the games would force you to play. Fortunately for Krusk, the game was bocce ball and using his great strength he defeated the game with ease, while the other games were rendered to shreds by Ildirin and Bûrzum. Also, thanks to his powerful grab and powerful stance, he was able to lock down a lamia whose aura was greatly hurting the party. The Castle Maze Part 2 This was a difficult time for Krusk and the party in general. First things first, the party decided to go back to a pile of rubble, feeling that there might be some treasure locked within. Immediately after their first attempt to dig through the rubble, they are attacked by a boneclaw. The part is able to take him out pretty quickly and go back to digging through the rubble. They discover some tombstones and try to make out what they mean, but unfortunately fail quite a few times due to their lack of religious knowledge. Every time they fail, it seems the boneclaws grow in number and after Ildirin is knocked out, they high tail it out of there with Ildirin on Krusk's shoulders. Fortunately, the boneclaws did not follow them outside and Ildirin was able to recover. The next trial came in the form of facing the ivy heart, the powerful guardian of this castle. This, along with three resurrecting skeletons, almost destroyed the parties. Luckily, Krusk discovered you could stop the skeletons resurrection with fire attacks when he grabbed a downed one with his fire implement, causing it to explode. Shortly after, the party set the rest ablaze, but the ivy heart kept chugging on. It had knocked the party out. Thankfully, Krusk had set his implement ablaze and while the heart had him grabbed, it knocked itself out and the party was able to drag itself out of the room. The rest of the dungeon was a cakewalk, and as the party left the dungeon they were met by Loray Lorhalien, a member of The Court of Stars in Senaliesse. Krusk was honored as he had never been invited to such a grand place as guest and was equally honored by the exceptional presentation of himself by Romeus, the court herald. While there, he was appointed to be a knight for the Green Fey and was given a quest to see why the dream world had fallen into disorder. While he still was very concerned about the condition of his family, he felt that since he had been called to the graveyard, a higher power was at work and right now the world needed his protection. And if he could protect the world, it would protect his family and that is good enough for Krusk. The Court of Stars Upon entering the court, Krusk was pulled aside by Ellonwy Many-Branches and asked to investigate the Witch of Dreams and see why the people of the Feywild were not dreaming. He agreed, and afterwards met up with K'Artanyik to do a little bit of shopping. Worried that his punches needed a bit more oomph, he decided to buy iron armbands of power, as well as visit an armor-smith to strengthen the scales on his armor to keep protecting his newfound companions as much as possible. On his way back to the house, he ran into Ellonwy again, who requested that Krusk procure a bottle of Feywild wine on suspicion that it could be used to do ill deeds. He agreed and Krusk headed off to the house of the Gloaming Fey as stealthily as he could. Unsure exactly of where the wine was being held, Krusk lay in wait in the shadows hoping to catch a part of someone's conversation. Fortunately he was able to overhear two guards discussing the wine as they were coming out of a storehouse. As he waited for them to leave, he devised a plan lest there be others in the room, especially since he was without his armor. Stepping a bit away from the door, he set a small fire as a distraction. He then climbed up the tree, hung down, and banged on the door. He heard a shuffling, but no one came. He tried again and still no answer. Puzzled, Krusk decided to nudge open the door. Looking inside, he saw wine, shelves, and the leg of a goat peeking out. While debating what to do, the figure popped out and turned out to be Romeus, the court herald. Heavily intoxicated, he stumbled ahead, inviting Krusk to a drink of what happened to be Feywild wine. Remembering his mission, he took the drink and switched it out with another bottle. The satyr thanked him and proceeded to pass out. Bottle in hand, Krusk quickly put out the fire, and, being a kind man, took the satyr back to his Court. Upon arriving back at Ellonwy’s Court, he was thanked and invited to a party in his group's honor the next night, which he decided to rest up for. Strange Happenings The next day, after picking up his armor, Krusk and Pronefest went to the party. As they were being introduced, Ellonwy collapsed into Krusk arms. While Oran quickly came to her, Krusk was able to bring her back to consciousness. She then told the group that the maze was in trouble. Being the heroes that they were, Pronefest decided to go and investigate the area. Thankfully, Oran was able to quickly teleport them there. As they walked through the maze, Pronefest immediately noticed that the water that was flowing through the maze seemed to be poisoned, not to mention that Ellonwy’s condition was quickly worsening. Eventually, the group heard a rustling up ahead. Carefully, Krusk and K'Artanyik inched ahead and found the source of the sound: a large troll. Quickly they charged the troll, knocked it down, and just plain out beat the hell out of it. After that quick skirmish, they pressed forward, only to run into a group of [Court of Stars#Winter Fey|Winter Fey being led by a large treant. After K’Artanyik talked with the trees, Pronefest decided to move on. At first Krusk was against this as there were green fey trapped in ice among the treants, but the poison seemed more of a pressing matter, as well as the fact that he was issued to investigate the Gloaming Fey. Shortly afterwards, nine more winter treants showed up through a teleportation circle, making the party thankful they left them alone. Then out of nowhere, a treant appeared right in front of them and on fire. The party mercifully put the tree out of its misery and continued on, making it to the center of the maze. Here there was a strange woman sitting and before they knew it, Ellonwy started drinking from the poisoned water. Although this was quite shocking, Krusk is still unsure this isn't part of the poison still having an effect on her. Strange Happenings Part 2 Confused about what was going on and about the fact that Ellonwy was not attacking them, Krusk and Pronefest decided to go deeper into the area. Inside the grove there was a large tree which all the water seemed to be flowing from and Krusk couldn't help but notice the tree had a large boil on it. Sitting in front of the tree was another person with large ivy creatures at her side. While slightly threatening, she seemed undisturbed by the party entering the room. Cautiously, the party moved up and struck up a conversation with her. While doing this, a genasi appeared behind them. At first Krusk was unsure about this creature but he seemed peaceful enough and was assured when he saw the look of worry on his face. As they talked, she brought up the Winter Fey's imminent takeover of the Green Fey and how they must be punished. Upon closer look, she also had the same infection of thorns as Ellonwy. Krusk, knowing that he wanted Ellonwy safe and the poison removed, decided to sneak around the back of the tree to see if he could find anything more about the source of the poison. Upon investigation, he discovered an entrance into the tree which seemed to be leading closer to the source of the poison. Not ready to tell the party quite yet, he decided to get on top of the tree and wait for the possibility of an open chance to strike. As the party discussed more, they began to realize that this person was actually very important and attacking her would be a bad idea. Instead, they asked her if they could continue their journey and investigate the poison. Although she seemed infected, she was preoccupied with the takeover being led by the Winter Fey and told the party about the entrance Krusk had found. Feeling there was nothing more they could do up here, they decided to head into the tree. Charging ahead into the tree, Pronefest immediately felt the power of the poison coursing through the tree and felt the urge not to be next to each other. Thankfully, the genasi, who was called Ki-amar, was able to rid Bûrzum and K'Artanyik of the curse making the path ahead a much simpler one and the party moved on. The first oddity they noticed was a large hole in the ceiling, much larger than any normal creature could make and before they knew it they were under attack. At first, the giant beast had the upper hand as the party was quite a distance away but he was quickly dispatched as Pronefest did what they do best. As they moved on they quickly found what seemed to be the center of the tree, which happened to contain another tree and a waist deep small lake filled with the poison. At first, nothing seemed to dangerous and the genasi decided to try to lower the water level to see if there was something below them they were not seeing. Unfortunately, this caused the tree in the middle to animate and immediately attack the party. Being one of the first ones to act, Ki-amar was immediately grabbed and pulled into the innards of the tree. Angered, the party charged the tree but was perturbed when the tree healed from all its wounds. Then, as Ildirin was looking for a better shot, he slipped through a hole in the floor. Here he saw a crystal under the tree and immediately was able to destroy it. Up above the party kept hitting and was thankful the tree did not heal. All the while Ki-amar was still stuck in the tree. He was able to escape but was engorged again. Finally, at the last moment, K'Artanyik was able to drive his gythka through the tree's heart and save Ki-amar. During the battle they had noticed but now that it was over they saw that the poison has dissipated and they were able to freely explore under the water. As Krusk and Ildirin dived ahead they found a path which lead to another city and were able to deduce the source of the poison. On their way back, Krusk and Ildirin punched and blasted the entrance in order to seal it. Confident they had discovered all that they could find; the party went back up to the top, where they found that the Winter Fey had completed their takeover. While Krusk desperately wanted to help, he knew the numbers were just too great but was able to comfort Ellonwy. K'Artanyik was praised by his fellow Winter Fey members while Krusk had to bite his lip to contain the anger boiling within him. Despite this, he kept his cool and the party returned to the Court of Stars. While here, he reported to the Green Fey and thought about what to do next. As he pondered, the urge to see his family was still within him and then it hit him. While it would take a long time to find them, he realized that if he could bring back his dreams he could see them there. Unfortunately, dreams had been missing for quite a while in the Feywild and the time had come to get them back. Spurred on by his conviction he discussed this with the party and they agreed to join him on a trip to the Feygrove, where the wine he had stolen was made. As they went on their way, Krusk was already picturing his family in his mind, preparing for the time when they could spend the night together once again. The EIB and the Grays As the party arrived at the grove, nothing seemed terribly amiss. It seemed like a normal grove, at least for the Feywild. As Krusk and Pronefest took in their surroundings, they also noticed a satyr picking at some of the gourds in the trees. The satyr also noticed them and proceeded to quickly trot back to his domicile, slamming the door behind him. Curious, Pronefest went up to the door and Krusk knocked on the door. The satyr creaked open the door and nervously asked what the party wanted, to which Krusk responded that they were Pronefest and were just here to investigate the loss of dreams. Thankfully, the satyr knew of Pronefest's exploits and graciously let the party in. After some quick questions, Pronefest found out that this was a worker of the grove and didn't suspect him of being involved. They then found people had been disappearing, which was usually preceded by a bright light and always seemed to happen at night. Feeling there wasn't much more they could do, Pronefest decided to wait till nightfall and boldly go out to the grove. Night came and out they went and they were quickly greeted by a bright light of in the distance. Cautiously they approached and were greeted a large ship which was generating the light, followed by some gray humanoid creatures teleporting down. Ki-amar tried to be diplomatic, but quickly the team found their minds under attack. They fought them off as best as they could, but before they knew it K’Artanyik and Bûrzum were taken, followed by the ship blasting off. Not wanting to lose their companions, the group rushed after the ship. They thought they might lose it when all of a sudden it was blasted out of the sky. Now especially worried for the friends, they picked up the pace, only to be blocked by some eladrin in black. Short on people and time, Krusk and company decided not to start a fight and went to sneak around them. Successful, they made it to the crash site which was swarming with more eladrin in black. While Krusk was unsure of what to do, Ki-amar started playing with some magic and before he knew it he also looked like an eladrin and could hear his friends’ thoughts. Although this was disturbing, he went along with it because he knew it was for his friends. Without fear Krusk and the team walked into the crowd and to their joy saw their friends, hurt but alive. Thanks to Ildirin's supreme bluffing skills they were able to talk the EIB into allowing them to take the "prisoners" with them. In order to find out more info they went back to the vineyard with the "prisoners". Upon their arrival Pronefest was told to go downstairs for the interrogation. They went down and immediately K’Artanyik jumped the first one he saw. Despite a small setback of Ki-amar passing out, Krusk was able to heal him up and the party quickly dispatched their foes. While they stuck one EIB in the bag for interrogation, Ki-amar and Ildirin starting planning an extravagant getaway. K’Artanyik was unable to wait though and boldly investigated a sound coming from a back room, where he found the Witch of Dreams and some kind of mechanical flying device. Before he knew it, she quickly made her escape. When Pronefest followed that same escape route, they found that the EIB had gone. The Witch of Dreams Feeling unsure about what was going on; they questioned the satyr about where the EIB had gone. He said they roughed him up a little bit but then had gone on their way. Feeling pretty tired and beat up, Pronefest decided to call it a night. To do it right though, Krusk, K'Artanyik, and Bûrzum decided to have a little bit of the wine to help them out. They all took a shot and quickly found themselves in a deep sleep, where they found themselves standing in front of the Witch of Dreams and some kind of tentacled creature. When they noticed Pronefest the tentacled creature quickly vanished. Bûrzum, as usual, charged the Queen in anger and attempted to talk her down. Unfazed, she quickly shooed him away. Krusk, on the other hand, had the clarity of his mission at hand. He approached the queen and asked her why she had taken the dreams away. She seemed to talk in code and mentioned how some doors should not be opened. With both the need to continue his quest and the need to see his family both burning in his heart Krusk was able to discern that this involved the creature that had disappeared. The Witch, impressed by this, told Krusk of a secret base and gave him a handkerchief covered with stars and simply told him to follow it. Krusk thanked her and woke up, only to find himself surrounded by agents of the Raven Queen, who were ordering their arrest. Path to Redemption Now fully awake, Pronefest demanded to know why they were being arrested. According to the group, it was for their actions at the graveyard. They tried to explain the undead came about due to traps, but the Raven Queen's acolytes didn't care. Pronefest then asked if there was anything they could do to prove their innocence. Pondering for a second, the acolytes did indeed have a plan. They demanded that Pronefest join some of their other comrades who were investigating a strange bell on a hill. Not wanting to go to prison and with night being a little ways away, they agreed and were teleported away. When they came too, they were in the middle of a swamp and in front of them was the strange bell. It had an ominous presence, not unlike the presence in the graveyard. Headstrong, Pronefest went up and rang the bell and quickly found themselves surrounded by undead. With nowhere to go, they stood and fought. As Ildirin shot the first blast, the corpse exploded, as did the next, followed by a beautiful chain reaction of blood and guts as the zombies were wiped out in mere seconds. Afterwards, they were teleported to some sort of tower. They were met by more undead and with a few crits, Ildirin again was able to put a giant dent in their shambling bodies and the party quickly finished them off. Looking around, they were able to quickly determine that they were in the Shadowfell. They also saw two bodies that looked like Raven Queen acolytes by where they came through. Ki-amar began to talk to their spirits and was able to find out about a grotesque beast floating through the city. As they looked out the entrance, they could actually see it in the distance. Then, always the magician, Ki-amar had the idea of resurrecting one of the Raven Queen acolytes as a spirit to help them out. Already on the Raven Queen's bad side, the group convinced him otherwise and pressed on. Along the way, they ran into and quickly dispatched more undead but found nothing too interesting. While coming to the what seemed to be the end of this maze, Krusk was hoping not too much time had passed for he had yet to discuss with the group the events of his dream the night before and wanted to begin the hunt as quickly as possible. Also being around this much undead was not really Krusk's thing. Path to Redemption Part 2 Boldly, Pronefest walked into the tower. The outer wall was torn away but they were greeted by a strong inner wall and then the Tortured Vestige. Knowing this to be a fruitless endeavor, Pronefest ran with Krusk holding the beast off. As Krusk caught up to the team, he was greeted by a room full of constantly moving pillars. Undeterred, he bashed his way through them. Following this was a strange ball letting out strange sounds. Holding his ears and going "la la la" quickly gets him through that, only to be met by spinning blades. These seem to be no problem, as even Ki-amar is able to bash his way through and find a staircase. Krusk and company go up and find more bridges, towers, dead ends, and undead. After backtracking and quickly disposing of their enemies, they come to a tower that is a little different. Much like the ones they've seen the walls are destroyed, but unlike the ones they've seen there is a dais in the middle being protected by a magical barrier. Ever impulsive, Bûrzum charges the barrier and is able to weaken it. Unfortunately, that is when the Tortured Vestige appears behind them. Again Krusk is able to hold it off while the rest of the team breaks the barrier. Krusk does end up helping though and the barrier is broken. Ki-amar is the first on the dais and is teleported away. Krusk follows suit and is slightly worried when Bûrzum seems delayed. Thankfully he pops out of the teleport, albeit a little worse for wear. After healing up, the party takes stock in where they are now. The room has no doors, is surrounded by shadowy portals, and has a large demon face on it labeled "The Devourer". First things first they test the mouth to see if it will attack them by leading a chain down it. While nothing happens to the chain, two wraiths do come and attack them, but are quickly disposed of. Starting to get impatient with this tower and wanting desperately to continue his mission with for the Witch of Dreams, Krusk is thinking about throwing the captive eladrin through the portals to see what happens. K'Artanyik senses this and puts him back in the bag. Since nothing terrible happened to the chain, the mouth is the first thing investigated. It does indeed attack, but Pronefest is able to hold it off. At the bottom of the mouth is a strange ball. Despite their attempts though, the ball does not move. Feeling there must be something they're missing, Pronefest goes back to the top and investigates some more. Bûrzum, on the other hand, does what Bûrzum does and charges through a portal. He ends up in the mouth, but seems smaller. Attempting to see which ones will bring you to the mouth; Krusk has the idea of tossing rocks through the portals and finds that every other one will bring you to the mouth. Bûrzum tries to charge through another one and this time has his weapon taken from him. Feeling that this is going nowhere, Ki-amar has a bit of inspiration and calls upon the spirits to assist the party. They point towards the face and that is when they remember that if felt strange that the eyes were closed. Ildirin decides to blast away at the eyes, finally revealing the way out. By now the party is getting pretty hurt and Krusk knows they will soon need a rest. Hoping this will be over soon, he prepares himself for whatever might come ahead. Stats Krusk Half Orc Fighter (Weaponmaster) Knight of the Green Fey and Grabber Extroidanare Level 15 Good Theme: Gladiator Paragon Path: Dreadnought Ability Score Mod + 1/2 level Strength 24 14 (Athletics=21) Constitution 12 8 (Endurance=10) Dexterity 20 12 (Acrobatics=17, Thievery=12) Intelligence 11 7 (Arcana=7, History=7, Religion=7) Wisdom 11 7 (Heal=12, Insight=7, Nature=7, Perception=7) Charisma 9 6 (Bluff=6, Diplomacy=6, Intimidate=13, Streetwise=6) Defenses AC - 33 Fort - 33 Reflex- 27 Will - 21 Hit Points - 131 Healing surges - 11 Senses And Combat Stats Initiative -12 Speed - 5 Passive Insight - 17 Passive Perception - 17 Languages - Common, Giant Vision - Low light '''Powers: '''Grappling Strike, Knockdown Assault, Combat Agility, Combat Challenge, Stranglehold, Bash and Pinion, Inexorable Advance, Disrupting Advance, Bludgeoning Vice, Relentless Headlock, Crushing Foot, Bloody Blades, Makeshift Shield, Forceful Drag, Defensive Advance, Furious Assault, Blood Iron '''Feats: '''Inescapable Hold, Brawler Guard, Master of the Fist, Pin Down, Improved Defenses, Fiery Blood, Ki Focus Expertise, Crushing Pin, Toughness '''Equipment: '''Body of Fire Ki Focus + 1, Crown of the Dream King, Iron Ring of the Dwarf Lords, Cloak of Displacement + 2, Wrestler's Gloves, Diamond Cinture, Wyrvenscale Armour of Dwarven Vigor + 3, Iron Armbands of ower (Heroic Tier), Fireheart Tatoo, Dejada, Boots of the Fencing Master Category:People